The elevator in the old office building on 12th Street had always been a bit strange. Not because of any real incidents, but because of the way people talked about it. Some said it was haunted by a woman who had once worked there, others claimed it was cursed by a long-dead engineer who had died inside. No one really knew for sure, but everyone had a story. It wasn't the kind of place that screamed horror. The building itself was modest, with peeling paint and flickering lights. The elevator was an old model, its metal walls slightly dented, its buttons faded with age. Most people just used it when they needed to get from the first floor to the fifth or back again. But some never left the same floor they entered on. One morning, a new employee named Daniel arrived at the building. He was young, eager, and not much of a believer in urban legends. When he saw the elevator, he didn’t think much of it. It looked like any other elevator. He stepped inside, pressed the button for the fifth floor, and waited. The doors closed with a soft hiss, and the elevator began to rise. That’s when it started. The lights flickered, then went out completely. The air grew colder, and the hum of the motor stopped. Daniel pressed the emergency button, but no one answered. He tried the door, but it wouldn’t open. The elevator was stuck, suspended between floors. Then came the sound. A soft, rhythmic tapping, like someone was walking on the ceiling above him. It wasn’t loud, but it was persistent. Daniel stood still, heart pounding, trying to figure out what it could be. Maybe it was a mouse? Or maybe the pipes? The tapping stopped. Then came a voice—low, calm, and almost melodic. “You don’t belong here.” Daniel froze. He couldn’t see anyone, but the voice was real. “Who’s there?” he asked, his voice shaking. There was a pause. Then, the voice said, “I’ve been waiting for you.” The lights flickered back on. The elevator shuddered, and then suddenly, it dropped. Not all the way, but just enough to make Daniel stumble. The doors opened on the third floor. He stepped out, breathless, and looked back. The elevator was empty, as if nothing had happened. He told his coworkers about the incident, but they didn’t seem too concerned. “That elevator has been doing weird things for years,” one of them said. “Sometimes it stops between floors. Sometimes it doesn’t work right. You just have to be careful.” But Daniel wasn’t so sure. Over the next few weeks, he noticed more strange occurrences. The elevator would start moving on its own, even when no one was inside. Once, he saw a shadow in the mirror, but when he turned around, there was no one there. Another time, the doors opened on the second floor, though no one had pressed the button. He started avoiding the elevator altogether, taking the stairs instead. But the building had only five floors, and sometimes the stairs were slow. One day, he decided to take the elevator again, just to prove to himself that it was fine. This time, the elevator was empty when he entered. He pressed the button for the fifth floor. The doors closed, and the elevator began to rise. But something was different this time. The lights were dimmer, and the air felt heavier. Then, the same voice spoke again, softer this time. “You shouldn’t have come back.” Daniel turned around, but the elevator was still empty. He reached for the emergency button, but before he could press it, the lights went out again. This time, the elevator didn’t stop. It kept going up, higher than it should have. The numbers on the panel passed the fifth floor, then the sixth, seventh, and eighth. Daniel’s breath caught in his throat. Then, the elevator stopped. The doors opened. But instead of the lobby, he found himself in a dark, narrow hallway. The walls were made of old brick, and the floor was covered in dust. There was no sign of the building. No signs of anything familiar. In the distance, he heard the same tapping. And this time, he knew it wasn’t coming from above. He ran back to the elevator, but the doors had closed again. He pounded on them, shouting for help. Nothing. The lights flickered, and the voice returned, this time louder. “You were never supposed to leave.” Daniel’s hands trembled. He realized now that the elevator wasn’t just an elevator. It was something else. A gateway. A place where time didn’t flow the same way. And he was trapped in between. As he stood there, the tapping grew louder, closer. And in the darkness, he saw a figure standing at the end of the hallway. It was small, barely visible, but it was watching him. He didn’t know how long he stood there, but eventually, the lights came back on. The elevator doors opened. He stepped inside, and the elevator began to descend. When the doors finally opened, he was back in the lobby. No one seemed to notice anything strange. No one asked why he was trembling. No one remembered the elevator ever stopping on the eighth floor. But Daniel did. And every time he walked past the elevator, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. That somewhere, in the spaces between floors, something was waiting for him to return.